Elementary School Science

Input:
What is the most important content in this lesson?
To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

• The characteristics of the moon (including diameter).

• The phases of the moon.

• Why the moon has craters and what caused them.

• The planets that have moons.

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How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

• For the first few minutes, the students will fill out the “What I Know About the Moon” worksheet.

• The teacher should begin class by showing the video, “Viewing the Earth from the Moon” (Source:. The video is about 45 second long and shows a view from of the Earth from the Moon as it goes through each phase. After the video is over, the teacher should hand out the worksheet/writing prompt: “Would You Like to Travel to the Moon?” The teacher should allow the students about 5 minutes to write a paragraph explaining why they would or would not like to travel to the Moon. After the students are done, the teacher should lead a discussion. The teacher should invite some students (if the class is small, all the students) to present their paragraphs. 

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• After the presentations are done, the teacher will begin presenting the information on the Solar System. If it is possible, project each page of the teacher’s copy of the “All About the Solar System” Science Journal worksheet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project.  The teacher’s copy of the journal has certain words/phrases that are bolded red and highlighted. It is important the teacher explain to the students those words/phrases are to be highlighted in their (students) journal. For this lesson, the teacher should review these pages:

  • Page 47: Moon Facts

** This page reviews basic information about the Moon, including diameter, distance from the Earth, and age**

• Page 48: What’s It Like on the Moon?

**This page reviews the characteristics of the Moon, including craters**

• Pages 49-50: Phases of the Moon

**These pages review the phases of the Moon. The teacher should show the video: “The Moon: An Hour-by-Hour Visualization for a Full Year” (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JqVqvIlrwA)**

• Pages 51-52: Moons in the Solar System

**These pages review the moons that orbit the other planets in the Solar System**

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• After the information has been presented, the students will create a “Phases of the Moon” craft. Each student will get a piece of cardstock or construction paper, a “Phases of the Moon” worksheet, and an “Earth” picture. The students will cut out the picture of the Earth and the “Phases of the Moon” pictures. The students will glue the picture of the Earth in the center of the paper. The students will glue the “Phases of the Moon” pictures around the Earth in order. Under each phase, the students will write which phase it is. Allow the students about 15 minutes to complete the activity.  

Closure

• The students should reconvene and the teacher should discuss the activities.

• The students will then fill out the “What I Learned About the Moon” worksheet.

• They will then share with the class, or with a partner, some things they wrote down in their “What I Learned About the Moon” page.

•  **The students should keep both of the "What I Know" and "What I Learned" sheets in a folder to put them all together into a book when the unit is finished.​**